Terminal Gradients

2026

Pen plotter, CMYK inks on 700 x 1000 mm Hahnemuhle paper, ERA5 climate reanalysis data

A drawing system with a finite, self-determined lifespan.

The plotter draws from ERA5 climate reanalysis data published by the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Temperature, humidity, wind, and pressure fields are translated into drawing instructions: line density, direction, spacing, and color mixing across 28 layered passes in CMYK.

The system does not illustrate the data. It is structured by it. Each pass overwrites and interferes with previous layers. The color that emerges is not chosen but computed from the interaction of ink, sequence, and atmospheric variables.

As the series progresses, the climate data does not remain an input. It progressively replaces the system's own compositional logic. The drawing rules that once governed composition are gradually overwritten by the data itself. The system does not degrade: it is captured. It halts when its own output can no longer be distinguished from the data that is destroying it.

Every run consumes the finite resource irreversibly. There is no reset, no rewind. Calibration tests, exhibition prints, and failed attempts all count.

Terminal Gradients, close-up detail of layered CMYK strokes

Terminal Gradients, close-up detail showing color accumulation

Terminal Gradients, close-up showing individual stroke texture

Terminal Gradients, plotter mid-drawing, CMYK layers building — Plotter mid-drawing. Layers of CMYK ink build a color field from climate data.

Terminal Gradients, early layer separation, CMYK on plotter bed — Early layer separation. Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black passes plotted individually before accumulation.